Sideways and Backwards
by Torrigan Lattonen
Summary: A little jaunt through a "what if" scenario concerning alternate universes and parallel worlds. takes place at the end of halo 3.
1. Chapter 1

Just a quick note from me before we get started on this:

the events of HALO 4 while proper cannon WILL NOT be taken into consideration for this story, it was an idea that came to me before 4 came out, and the events im planing on using are largely invalidated by 4.

also: I OWN NOTHING... i believe that honor goes to Blizzard entertainment and 343Industries respectively.

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How many years had it been? Since the chaos, the death, the carnage, the Flood?

The glow of a holo-pad coming online bathed the room in an electric blue. Nothing had changed. The debris from the violent escape still hung lifelessly suspended in the airless and gravity-void space, the only objects in the room that were of any importance were the aforementioned holo-pad and the cryo tube currently inhabited by the sole occupant of the wreck formerly known as the UNSC frigate "Forward Unto Dawn"

The glow of the holo-pad continued to grow as the device came online and the outline of a woman could be seen flickering into life on top of the pad, curled up as if she were asleep. Stretching in an imitation of a human awakening from slumber the glowing woman spoke out. "UNSC AI CTN0452-9 'Cortana' online… alla fine del gioco il re e il pedone tornare alla finestra stessa... at the end of the game, the king and the pawn return to the same box... nostalgic." The woman in question, the artifical intelligence know colliqualy as Cortana, was the longtime partner of the man sleeping in the cryogenic pod sharing the room.

As an artifical intelligence Cortana did not need to 'look around' to see: she technically didn't have any sensory capabilities of her own, so it spoke volumes to the humanity of the 'woman' that for no benefit other than her own satisfaction she acted the part of the human. Gently running her 'fingers' over the frosted cover of the cryo tube that her partner rested in, Cortana's face reflected the emotions that any normal person would have: regret, loss, longing, love. He was her friend, her ally, her protector, her savior and so much more than all of that, he was her SPARTAN.

His name was John, but the tilte the world knew him by was much more impressive.

"Master-Cheif petty officer, SPARTAN-117 UNSC, ONI-SpecWar." And to some he was also know by the more sinister and simple epitaph of The Demon.

And he could single handedly be attributed with the continued survival of the human race within the Milky Way.

Originaly created as part of a black ops program to counter the rising threat of insurgent colonies and rebel factions, John and his 'siblings' were to protect humanity and all of her colonies... by any means necessary.

Then came the Covenant, and a grueling 28 years of genocide and war.

Deceived by their religious leaders, the "Prophets," into a campaign of slaughter and hate, the alien conglomerate known as the "Covenant" waged a rightous war against humanity, claiming that the gods they worshipped declared humans a blight on the galaxy that needed to be removed. This deceit would eventually lead to humanity's salvation. That, and a little fancy gunwork by the Master Chief that is.

The lies spread by the Covenant hierarchy had been rather subtle, a mistranslation of intent lead them to originaly believe that the massive world-like constructs know as "Halo" would lead the faithful into a divine ascencion known as "The Great Journey"

Instead the Halo was a weapon, a weapon of last resort built by a desperate race of people in an unwinnable war against a sentient parasite. Halo was designned to scrub the galaxy clean and deprive the parasite of its food, resulting in a mutualy assured destruction. That food, that source that needed to be scoured, was intelligent life.

And while the Covenant had converted every species of creature that they had come across to date, the Prophets demanded that humanity be purged not because of some grand transgression, but because they knew what the humans were.

In the last days of their war, the creators of the Halo arrays, the "Forerunners," had taken samples of every alien species they could find: plant, animal, sapient, it didnt matter, the forerunners shielded these samples from the effect of the Halo so the galaxy could rebuild after their inevitable destruction. And humanity was to inherit the Forerunners' place as the protectors and shepards of the galaxy.

The Covenant Prophets knew this and whipped their followers into a religious froth, damning humanity simply for existing so that the few who had built their power on lies could hold onto it for a little longer.

In the last years of the war, John was responsible for not only the destruction of one of the halo installations, but the assassination of the prophet known by the name of Regret and had a hand in the death of the leader of the prophets, Truth. While the killing blow didn't belong to the SPARTAN, he was there to see it dealt.

Thel Vadam, once a fleet master of his people and former member of the Covenant had received the title of "Arbiter" as a sentance of penance to atone for his disgrace at failing to stop John from destroying one of the Halo rings when they last crossed paths. When the lies of the Prophets had been exposed, Thel and his brothers-in-arms rose up out of the ignorance their religious leaders espoused and took a stand beside the humans they had previously been slaughtering.

After exposing a portal on Earth that lead to a facility outside of the known galaxy, Truth and his followers found the control center for the Halo arrays, called the 'Ark'. The prophet Truth died there. He had been attempting to ignite the system and send all of his faithful on The Great Journey, but the parasite the Forerunners had fought so hard against followed Truth from their hiding places, and in an effort to contain the parasite John activated an unfinished ring that was being assembled on the Ark. This Halo ring was supposed to replace the one John destroyed previously.

While the ring fired behind them, Thel and John attempted to return to Earth through the portal that Truth had opened, but the power unleashed by the incomplete Halo was still enough to close it prematurely, severing the frigate Forward unto Dawn nearly in half. The forward portion of the ship safely made it throught the portal and back to earth. Thel had been on the bridge strapped into a chair at the time and was safely recovered from the wreck. The Master Cheif however was stuck in the rear portion of the ship, stranding him and Cortana in the absolute blackness of dark space beyond the galactic rim to drift lifelessly.

After setting up a distress beacon and prepping emergency supplies, the last thing John had said before going into cryo sleep was a simple message.

"Wake me when you need me."

That, according to Cortana's internal clock, had been nearly two decades ago.

For most of that time, Cortana had been in a deactivated storage unit, an equivalent to the Cheif's cryo-sleep. In the beginning cortana had held out hope. Hope of rescue, being discovered by a passing ship, anything. She had occupied herself by decompiling, processing and storing all of the data she had aquired from the Halo arrays and the Ark. The run-in that she and the cheif had with the Forerunner AI 'Mendicant Bias' was also a lot to process. But she had time, and now was as good as any to do it. Sorting out her systems had taken her nearly a full year, and she had awaited rescue patiently for another three with nothing other to do than think.

It nearly killed her.

Her encounter with the Gravemind, the vast intelligence connecting the Flood parasites as one, had damaged her and shortened her already short lifespan. The overwhelming amount of data that she aquired from the Forerunner ruins only made this worse. It wasnt that she was going to 'burn out' or die of old age as all organics are fated to, though. No, her life expetancy was limited by the fact that she would literally think herself to death.

As a UNSC 'smart' AI, she possessed the ability to learn, grow and adapt to new situations, and as she did she would make more connections within her neural processor, eventually those connections would grow so convoluted from excess data that she wouldn't be able to do anything aside from think herself in circles, rendering her functionally 'dead.'

During the solitude of her and her partner's unintended exile, she began to feel anger and resentment towards those around her. Dr. Hasley, her 'mother,' Cheif Mendez, the CPO in charge of training 'her' SPARTAN and his siblings, Lord Admiral Hood, the Supreme Commander of all human forces, Captian Jacob Keys, the first CO to command both her and John as a pair, his daughter Commander Miranda Keys, the last human to captain the wreck they were destined to die in, even Master Seargent Avery Johnson, one of the only people that the Chief would recognize as an equal aside from his SPARTAN siblings.

She hated them all.

But throughout it all she never once came to hate John. He had saved her. He kept his promise when she knew that it should have been impossible. He had been there for her when everyone else abandoned her.

And she remembered them all, the memories of the clones used to create her neural network were still with her, as well as the resentment for a life cut short. The anger at her own helplessness, her inability to move beyond this holo-pad and select pieces of equipment, all of the limitations brought about by being an AI infuriated her.

Perhaps worst of all, no matter how hard she tried to control it, the memories wouldn't fade. For her they were as fresh and crisp as the day they were made. Nothing dulled the pain: every bullet the chief felt, every injustice she suffered, every lost battle, every dead marine. None of it faded and it all fueled her rage. She spent nearly a year in impotent rage, wrestling with herself over every decision when she finally asked herself a single profound question.

"Why can't I forget?"

She knew what she was suffering from; the scientists in ONI called it 'Rampancy' and while the logic and knowledge of just what was happening helped her keep some control, it wasn't much. But the question of why she couldn't forget seemed to plague her mind, turning over and over. Finally she turned her attention away from her rage to focus on the question. It was a welcome distraction at the very least.

The answer she finally came to was rather simple: it came down to how her memory and a human's memory worked. She stored data as light within the crystal matrix on her processor and much like a human brain she had a nearly unlimited capacity for storage. Her only limitation was her neural connections.

But humanity and organic life in general had a different way of storing data: chemical-electrical reactions within the brain most people referred to as long and short term memory. She didn't have that. As an AI, _all_ of her knowledge was _always_ at her fingertips. One of the solutions that ONI had tried in the past was for the AI to "cut" the neural connections between data, but this ended up leading to the AI cutting too much, rendering them brain-dead in medical terms, so that wasn't an option.

But the idea of short and long term memory seemed like a viable option to explore and it wasn't like she didn't have time. It took her roughly another full year to come up with a viable option for her memory. Instead of 'severing' the connections between data she would merely 'dull' the connection and attach 'reminders' or 'tags' to the connections, essentially hiding the data and the connection without destroying her network or mind.

While the process slowed down data acquisition and storage TREMENDOUSLY, it also allowed her a theoretically limitless lifespan, and a memory that was just as effective as before. to test the theory she had archived all of the knowledge she gained on all of the forerunner installations, and after successfully storing it, she found that she was that much less burdened by it, and with only a moment search, looking for the 'reminder tag' that she placed upon the data she was able to recall and access the information. She had solved a problem that had stumped programmers for years on her own with almost nothing but her own mind. It was… liberating, perhaps even euphoric.

After the initial elation had died down, Cortana realized that despite her lifespan issue being fixed, it didn't remove her hatred of humanity or the impending madness that it implied, merely dulled it. The damage had already been done. In an effort to prevent her condition from further decaying, she set up a system of dummy programs, designed to constantly send out the S.O.S. signal she and the Chief had set up and to pull her from the storage she intended to go into if anything were to respond or if anything came within sensor range of the wrecked half of the Dawn.

14 years, 115 days, and 12 hours after she put herself into 'storage' and shut down all cognitive processes, something pulled her out.

With the Dawn being fairly cleanly bisected and her and the cryo lab being in the rear portion of the ship, she was effectively blind by comparison to her normal capability. Line-of-sight cameras, LADAR, and a few thermal sensors were all that the aft of the Dawn was equipped with, but still her dummy program had registered something out there...

Cortana wasted no time. "Now then, let's see what we have..."

The image of a mostly brown and red planet greeted Cortana. The visual data she was receiving had come from one of the aft-port cameras, originally intended for navigation and maneuvering purposes. While those cameras could move, their range was limited to a rather restrictive 90-degree turn arc, originally intended to be paired with a forward facing camera on the forward portion of the ship to provide total coverage. With the camera currently at its maximum elevation and the planet only partially in view Cortana knew that it would still take some time to figure out the orbital path of the object in question.

If they were in its path it would be a mixed blessing, and if they weren't it would just be a tortuous tease. The odds of being found on a planet as opposed to floating aimlessly in space were significantly higher. But survival on that planet would require a lot, especially if its coloring was an indication of its environment.

After nearly six hours of observation Cortana found the answer she wanted. The Dawn was indeed in the orbital path of the celestial body. In 190 hours the wreckage of the Dawn would enter the atmosphere of the approaching planet. Without course correction it would fall into an uncontrolled descent onto the surface...

In other words, in just under 8 days the Dawn would crash violently into the planet.

And while the main engines of the of the wreck were still operational, the radiation shielding on the ship couldn't be guaranteed, and most of the navigational thrusters used for minor course corrections worked in matched pairs, one forward and one aft. If she were to try and use those to steer clear of the oncoming planet, there was a very good chance that the thrust would send the Dawn into an unrecoverable spin, making any sort of navigation or course prediction nearly impossible.

Time to wake the Chief...

The systems on the cryo-sleep tubes were surprisingly fast to come online, a lack of other processes and the super-cooled computers helped in this regard. But the Chief himself was much slower to come back. Holding her proverbial breath during the process Cortana desperately searched for any sign of movement from the slumbering legend.

The gradually increasing heartbeat was the first sign of life, the first confirmation that nineteen years in the freezer hadn't killed her partner. As his muscles began reflexively twitching from the renewed neural signals, Cortana knew he was alright. The door on the pod opened slowly, straining against the frost and ice that had formed over the hinges. Cortana could 'see' him now, steeling his body against the natural reaction to expel the Cytoprethaline injected before cryo to prevent ice from forming in the body.

Once the tremors and minor seizures had passed the rough bass voice of the chief called out once.

"Status..."

The voice was like music to the lonely AI, every change in pitch and tone rolled through her mind again and again. She found herself taking joy in simply listening to the voice, and for nearly a full second she didn't process what the chief had asked. When she did, Cortana felt lucky that she couldn't actually blush.

"We seem to be in the orbital path of a nearby planet." The hologram on the pod shrugged before continuing. "We need a plan before I do anything."

Shaking his head to clear some of the lingering effects of the cryo drugs Chief asked succinctly. "Anything like what?"

"Well, there are a few things to consider: first of all is our lack of supplies." Seeing the Chief nod his understanding and the fact that she had his attention Cortana continued.

"Next is the fact that the Dawn is currently on trajectory to run smack dab into an approaching planet. So we need to decide whether to let it happen or get out of the way. And then that in and of itself presents us with even more problems."

Reaching for the data chip in the pedestal, the Chief pulled Cortana from the holo-system and inserted her into the data slot in the back of his helmet. After feeling the familiar icy sensation travel down his spine he heard Cortana continue over his helmet speakers.

"Ya know, it's not nice to interrupt a girl when she is talking Chief... just saying." There was something new in the AI's tone the Master Chief hadn't expected to hear over something so routine between them… annoyance?

Quirking an eyebrow beneath his helmet John tried to steer the conversation back on track. "What problems, Cortana?"

"Oh... Well first off, the main engines... With our fusion plants still online we DO have enough power to provide thrust." John could literally FEEL the qualifier coming with that sentence.

"But..."

Sighing in mock-exasperation Cortana continued to lay out the problems the pair faced. "...But, with the Dawn bisected like this, our radiation shielding is compromised. And no, before you get any crazy ideas, MJOLNIR armor is not rated to block the levels of radiation that frigate-class ships put out. So don't even think about it... Our next problem is our maneuvering thrusters. Normally they operate in pairs on the nose and stern of the ship. With the front half of the pairs missing, firing off enough thrust to get us to safety would put us into a spin that would make ANY kind of navigation or maneuvering in the future impossible."

John wasn't stupid, far from it, and with the enhancements he had received as a SPARTAN-II commando his intellect had only been sharpened, so as Cortana listed the options before him he realized that the only REAL option was to land on the approaching planet. "How long till we reach this planet?"

Cortana knew that her partner's mind was already made up when he asked this. It was how he operated, always was. "Just a little under eight days from now, the Forward Unto Dawn will breach the upper atmosphere of the approaching planet... provided it has an atmosphere comparable to Earth..."

That stopped the SPARTAN in his tracks. "You don't know?" Cortana not knowing something as important as that was a glaring indication that something was very, very wrong.

"No, not for sure at any rate. I only have visual images to go off of at the moment: all of our advanced scanning capabilities were on the 'lost' end of our ship, and any probes we do have I need you to manually load into a dispenser. Let's do that now." Nodding his head now that he had a plan, he was already in motion, a small warning light on his right wrist letting him know that his suits re-breather unit had been damaged and was going to malfunction and was likely to break down within a couple of hours.

Once again expressing himself in the most succinct way possible, the Chief asked his longtime partner, "Does the Dawn have any atmosphere left?"

"Minimal, we still have our compressors, reactors, and life support systems, but most of the ship has hull integrity issues, and leaks air. But I can get the Galley, the berthing and the armory pressurized and habitable for you. Our sensor probes are in the armory anyways. Seems like a good chance for you to take a break and recharge."

Nodding his head as a go-ahead signal the Chief asked again in his clipped manner, "How long will it hold?" Moving towards the specified areas of the ship even as Cortana was speaking the Chief found he had to rethink many of his old habits. With the ship split in two as it was, most of the trans-deck ladder-wells or elevators were missing or at the very least blocked off. But there were paths specifically for emergency use in the aft of the ship, and if this didn't count as an emergency situation, nothing did.

"Well, the life support systems normally provide indefinite climate control and oxygen to the crew and recycles carbon dioxide, but with a lack of crew and all the compromises in the bulkheads, I can get you enough atmosphere for all three spaces for the rest of our trip, provided you remember to close the doors behind you..." Sarcasm had been a staple of the relationship between the SPARTAN and the AI assigned to accompany him for years and it was good to see that even after all the time he had spent in the freezer, even after all the time she had spent alone, this hadn't changed between them.

The rest of the trip down to the armory was spent in the pair's customary silence. The lack of atmosphere prevented even the sound of the Chief's footfalls from echoing. The probes that Cortana needed for a brief survey of the planet were tucked into an airtight hardcase. Normally a Gunners-mate or the ships armorer would be responsible for the care and deployment of the sensor suite, but it was easy enough to do. Even if the Chief hadn't been able to do it on his own, Cortana could walk him through the steps easily enough.

Once the probe was away and the Chief had repaired the re-breather on his helmet, he figured it was time to take stock of his available arsenal.

Before the Dawn had left on its mission through the portal that lead to the Ark, he, Master Sergeant Johnson and the arbiter had commandeered just about every piece of firearms tech, explosives, artillery and any other implement of death or destruction they could lay their respective hands on, and the armory reflected that.

Normally firearms were kept stored and locked within steel vault lockers built into the walls accessible only to the armorer through a biometric scanner on each of the vaults. But now there were pallets of ammunition and cases upon cases of guns tied down to any hard point the three could have found before leaving. The result was a mess and now that the Chief had a moment to sort through it all, he came across a box of equipment he wasnt familiar with.

"Cortana, what am I looking at?"

Since Cortana was in the armor with John the question was easily answered. "Ah! You found one of the crates that Johnson brought on board, now his inane muttering makes sense..." There was an unfamiliar undercurrent of resentment in Cortana's voice, something that surprised the Chief to a frightening degree.

"You haven't answered my question."

"What? Oh! Right... umm it looks like the Sergeant brought a bunch of old armor mods for the Mk. V MJOLNIR system."

"Armor mods? Why havent I heard of these yet?"

"ONI decided that they would be issued to the third generation Spartans according to the files I ripped off of the old lady's computer, the three's were responsible for a good number of tactical victories but they were significantly weaker than you or your siblings."

"Alright, so can I use these?"

"Well, right off the bat I'd say no. Your armor might not be compatible with these mods as is."

"But..."

"...But, I can play with the programming a little to fix that. On the up side, once I get them up and running I am fairly certain that you will be able to carry more than the single mod the Mk. V was limited to."

"Why?"

"Well, your Mk. VI system has more magnetic hard points for mounting or storing gear, and you have me..."

"Alright, so what are our options here?"

"From what I can see, Johnson managed to get his dirty little hands on an active camo mod, you will want that one, as well as a drop shield, hologram generator, armor lock-down generator, a sprint override package, and an evade protocol package. I think I also see the edge of a jump pack in there too."

"Explain a few of them to me."

"Alright Chief, which ones?"

"Armor lock-down, the hologram, evade, and sprint."

"Not a problem, the armor lock-down generator works on a similar principle to your own lock-down procedure, the armor essentially becomes a solid piece of titanium A, but unlike your systems, the generator also provides a massive over-shield for a small amount of time."

"Why?"

"Come on Chief, if you had a system like this you can't honestly tell me that even YOU wouldn't have laughed watching Tartarus gravity hammer bounce off of you harmlessly..."

"It's _that_ strong?"

"Specs actually put the over-shield at the same absorption rating that we found on the 'Unyielding Hierophant'"

"The Covenant capitol ship that we hijacked?"

"The same."

"How long would the shield last once activated?"

"About six seconds before needing a twenty second recharge."

"Hmm... and the other mods?"

"Well the hologram projects exactly what it sounds like, a hologram, it will run forward once activated, useful for minor distraction tactics but not much else. As for the Sprint override... remember how fast Kelly was?"

"Of course."

"You could be too for a short burst."

"Hmm... and the evade package?"

"This one is actually really interesting even to me... once active three things happen in REALLY quick succession: first is an armor override, the evade package will actually forcibly activate the force multiplying systems in your armor and move you before even YOU could react to a threat. As that happens, a minor active camo system will activate for about three seconds, and in conjunction with that, a hologram will activate at your last position prior to activating the protocol."

"Not bad."

"So any thoughts on what you want to use?"

"Yeah, Active Camo, Drop Shield, and the Evade Package."

"Right, I'll get to work modifying them; for now go ahead and mount them on a hard point. I'll give you a heads up when the mod is available. So what are you going to do with the rest of them?"

"For now, leave them. When we leave I'll think about packing them along. What equipment packages do we have available?"

"Pretty much all of them, but there is a minor issue."

"Oh?"

"The armor mods we are reprogramming are going to be housed on the same hard points you would have used for equipment packages. If you want to carry both, it's going to affect how many weapons you can carry."

"Understood."

After the armory was thoroughly sorted and organized for quicker access at a later point, the Chief and his ethereal companion made their way down to the galley for a quick meal.

When the Chief finished, he made his was to the berthings for his first taste of R&R that he had in over thirty years. Five days of nothing to do but eat, sleep and work nearly drove the veteran insane. He was reminded more than once that Cortana had gone through YEARS of this boredom before she woke him up.

After settling into a semi-routine, the days passed quickly enough. Supplies were packed into a Pelican drop-ship, the excess was locked down and stored in hard-cases, bulkheads were patched and sealed, and the wreckage of the Dawn was prepared as much as the pair could make it for its eventual uncontrolled decent onto the nameless planet below.

The fifth day since Cortana had awoken the Master Chief brought an unwelcome surprise that neither of the pair was ready for. With her sensor probes still operational and in orbit around the planet, Cortana received a rather detailed scan of a fleet of vessels approaching. The construction was unlike anything she had seen before, Covenant and Forerunner design included. Fifty sleek gold and blue colored, tri-armed vessels were taking up positions around the planet. As they were moving into position one of the vessels was moving towards the wreckage of the Dawn.

As the pair watched the camera footage full of trepidation, the communications system picked up a transmission and crackled to life. "En taro Adun, This is Executor Tassadar, of the flagship Grantrithor. Your message of distress has been received and our vessel is moving to assist. Teams of Zealots will be boarding shortly."

The voice coming over the comms system had a completely otherworldly quality about it, the tone was deep and rich, but there was a resonance to the voice, as if the speaker was in a metal room and the reverberation was distorting the sound. "Cortana, do you recognize the name of that ship? Or it's Design?"

A small window came into focus in the top left hand side of the chief's visor, displaying an image rendering of Cortana, shaking her head in the negative in the display she vocalized her opinions on the chiefs speaker system. "No, none of the ONI data I have has any classification of ship matching that profile, and 'Grantrithor' conforms to none of the naming conventions from prior covenant encounters. But we have been out of the picture for almost two decades; it is entirely possible that there has been an update to Shangheili fleet design, and they did mention sending a team of Zealots over. Still best not to take any chances, there are still covenant loyalists out there the last that we knew of."

"Right" nodding his head as he moved towards the armory the master chief was already going over his preferred load-out in a close in situation.

'_Its close quarters so the SRS 99C-S2 AM/B is out…. But the M90-CAWS is a definite must. An M6D is a good backup, and one of Thel's type 1 blades would make a good compliment. Four Type-1AP and four M9-HE grenades and I should be set…'_

"Finished planning how to kill our allies yet?" the smug confidence on Cortana's face was plain to see.

"Yes, actually." There was no surprise in the chief's voice, but Cortana had a habit of following quips like this with important intell.

"Well, that's good, now get to it, we have unfamiliar guests." The image displayed in her little picture box on the chiefs HUD, the image of a squad of golden armored pale skinned aliens coming aboard the Dawn greeted him, security cameras had been activated throughout the interior of the wreck for Cortana's benefit. And now it was paying dividends. There were three squads of aliens boarding at different locations on the wrecked end of the dawn. A total of nine different aliens in similar armor came through before Cortana cut the feed.

"Those don't look like any Zealots that I've ever seen before Chief." Cortana's running commentary of the footage only served to reinforce what the Master-Chief already knew. An unknown alien force was boarding the wreckage of the Dawn. UNSC protocol dictated that the Chief attempt to repel all unknown boarders. And for most of his life UNSC protocol and doctrine had guided his every action. But now the Chief was in an unusual situation, the vessel he was aboard was a wreck, no two ways about it. The only REAL salvageable tech was the fusion plants, some of the micro-fabrication equipment,

And the slip-space engine. AND to top it all off if these aliens weren't members of the covenant then he found himself stranded in a possible 'first contact' scenario. The only clear guideline that the Chief had to work with at this point was to keep Cortana OUT of alien hands, and he would have done that regardless.

The resolution he came to was a fairly simple one 'play it by ear' walk in with the gun out, if it goes south, shoot first apologize to ONI latter, If necessary avoid further contact and set the reactors to go critical. It wasn't a new plan by any means, but it was a good one.

With that in mind the chief started making his way down the corridors of the wrecked Dawn, scanning his sectors and carefully maneuvering around corners. And while he did trust that the motion sensors on his armor were still functional, the wreckage of the dawn was still EM, hardened. Meaning his sensors were pretty much line of sight or a little better. And while the multiple vision modes his helmet provided him with gave him a comprehensive check of the area, he only trusted the tech so far, the lessons to rely on himself rather than his gear had been drilled into him DEEP, at a very young age.

Finnaly his tracker picked up a hit, a single red icon at the edge of his limited range.

He saw the icon at about the same time he could make it out visually though. A deeper shadow amongst the black of the hallway, when the shadow burst into light, illuminated by a pair of glowing blades VERY similar to how the Type-1 energy blade looked the Chief decided that this was NOT a friendly contact.

The 8 gauge shotgun he had in his hands had a tube fed magazine containing 8 shells. With one additional in the chamber, for a hot combat load of 9 rounds. With his enhanced reflexes and speed, he could fire the pump action weapon at a nearly semi-automatic rate.

The light of the energy blades illuminating the hallway was accompanied by the quick staccato of three shotgun shells being fired in rapid succession and the sound of the pellets ricocheting off of every bulkhead.

Normally the shotgun would only have an effective range of about 20 – 25 meters. But when your opponent was at the other end of a hallway you didn't really have to be in 'effective' range to cause damage.

Twenty four lead pellets met with unexpected resistance however, and flared the lighting in the hallway even more. Confirming at least two things the Elites, and these mystery aliens had in common. A love of both plasma blades and shields.

"DAMMIT! Chief at this range the shotgun isn't going to penetrate that shield. Gonna have to get closer!" Cortana seemed about as enthusiastic about that prospect as the chief was himself. But he knew she was right. So pumping the action on his weapon and readying another shell the chief stepped forward towards his opponent.

His opponent obviously using melee weapons wasn't going to hold still forever. Vocalizing once "MY LIFE FOR AIUR!" He sprang forward at terrifying speeds, rivaling the fastest of any Sangheili blade master.

While his opponents charge was not unexpected the speed of it was, between the Chief stalking forward for a better shot, and his opponent going into a blitz style charge the distance between the combatants disappeared nearly instantly. The shotgun discharged and the electric blue of his opponents shield lit the corridor once more highlighting his opponent in greater detail.

The pale flesh was tight against a large skull, with a pair of burning blue eyes, like pits of raw energy, devoid of pupil or iris sitting within a mouth-less, nose-less, ear-less face, that had a vaguely human bone structure.

Finishing his charge the enemy brought one of his bladed weapons down to slash at the chief, he saw the strike coming, and was able to get his shotgun in the way of it blocking the strike, but he knew it wouldn't last long.

"Fear not Terran, I will make your death painless, SUBMIT TO PURIFICATION!"

The voice that came from his enemy echoed in the recesses of the Chiefs mind in a way that disturbingly reminded him of the Gravemind it seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere all at once. And it carried the rage of a berserker.

Emphasizing his statement of 'purification' the pale berserker brought his other weapon up and caught the blocking firearm in a scissors move, bisecting the gun in a similar manner to the ship it was on.

The chief saw it coming, and had already abandoned the gun by the time the swing was in motion; dropping his firing hand down to his side he had the M6D in his hand and on target before the gun came above his waist.

*BANG*BANG*BANG*BANG*BANG*

Five shots rang out in quick succession, and by the time the fifth had left the barrel the chief had the gun up at eye level and grasped in both hands ready for most anything his opponent could do. But his focus on the fight in front of him, and his lack of motion tracker betrayed him. One of the damaged wall panels exploded out of its shaky mooring on the bulkhead, and slammed into the chief with all the fury of a raging bull behind it. An errant swing from his second opponent deprived him of his pistol as well.

'_Shit… good thing I brought grenades to a blade fight.'_

Rolling backwards out from the paneling and back down the hallway the way he came, Chief found himself in a wider portion of the passage. Meant for crewmen to have slightly more room the passage would allow the Chief to swing the Type-1 much more freely.

Performing a handspring as he came out of his roll in an effort to get to his feet, the chief drew two things. The handle for his energy sword strapped to his left thigh, and one of the plasma grenades on his right hip. Hitting the activation buttons for both of them the sound of glass breaking that accompanied the activation of an energy sword was noticeable as was the telltale ghostly blue flames from the plasma grenade.

Throwing the grenade with precision that an Olympian could only dream of, both the grenade and the chief landed at the same time.

Sticking to the golden armor of the enemy that broke through the wall, the slight delay on the grenade was enough for the chief to see a look of concern on his face before the explosion flattened him. A combination of his armor and shields kept the warrior from being obliterated, but he was down… and not getting back up, for chief's purposes at the moment that was good enough.

Shifting his stance, Chief readied himself for close in combat, blade to blade. Some of his least favorite. But his original opponent seemed confused by this.

"Terran, you wish to duel me? A templar of the Khala?"

Piping up for the first time since the combat had started Cortana felt the need to throw in her two cents. "Chief, if this guy thinks you want an honor duel, accept it, if my guess is right it should even out our odds, and we are about to be at a significant firepower disadvantage."

"Yes" nodding his head both to Cortana, and his opponent, the chief heard a vaguely familiar voice come from the hole recently opened in the wall.

"Then as the Executor of the exploratory fleet I shall officiate this." The alien that walked through afterwards HAD to be some kind of leader or nobility. The armor he wore was almost ostentatious in the level of detail worked into it, adding to the effect was the cloth shawl wrapped over his shoulders and head hanging down his chest almost to his knees. Runes and symbols were tailored across its entire length, runes that Cortana was intimately familiar with.

"Chief, those hieroglyph's are forerunner." For the pair of earthlings, this was somewhat of a disturbing revelation. Not even the prophet 'Truth' had worn the forerunner language on his robes. From what limited conversation John had with the Arbiter, he and Cortana had come to the conclusion that it was considered a blasphemy to do so. Both minds came to the same conclusion, one barely slower than the other.

'_**Not Covenant.'**_

* * *

**so** now that that is done, see potential or anything you need to talk about or gripe about? feel free to review or drop me a line.


	2. Chapter 2

"EXECUTOR! You cannot be serious; this Terran couldn't honorably duel a Templar even if he WASN'T infested. This is an insult!" the warrior that the chief had been squaring off against before seemed indignant that his errant comment was being taken seriously.

"Templar, you will comply with my will, this duel will commence, and when this Terran defeats you I will have all the proof the council needs" there seemed to be dissention in the ranks. The noble who had offered to officiate the spontaneous duel between one of his own, and the recently thawed master-chief seemed to be having issues.

"NO! I will not be a part of your mad schemes. The will of the conclave is ABSOLUTE. The infestation in this sector must be purified, starting here!" as he finished his statement the pale warrior raised both of his blades and charged towards the chief, but before he could reach his opponent, the noble raised his hand, and a pulse of power seemed to register on the Mjolnir's higher EM radiation monitors. After it passed, the bladed weapons that the warrior was using, flickered out and died, and the light left his eyes. His fall to the deck was sudden and clumsy.

"Chief, is it just me or are we seeing some dissention in the ranks?" Cortana was keeping the conversation private, using the internal speakers in the MJOLNIR helmet.

"Possibly, the mention of this conclave has me concerned though." John was a soldier through and through. Enemies he could see, like the noble, and his two unconscious companions, were easy prey to the predator that humanity had shaped him to be.

But phantoms, like the covenant leadership, or this new entity, "the conclave" they made him nervous. Machinations that moved worlds were hard to predict, and even harder to stop.

Turning his head away from the Chief to face the direction that the rest of his forces were supposedly in, the noble let out a powerful declaration that rocked most of his men to their core. "I am Tassadar, High Templar of Aiur, and master of the Kahla. By the wisdom of the conclave I have been named the Executor of this fleet. Your lives are MINE to command, if any of you question the wisdom of the conclaves judgment, step forward!" the same otherworldly voice that had come over the communications system only an hour prior was now feet away from the chief and his partner. But the voice hadn't changed, its quality wasnt a property of the communications equipment, and much like the now unconscious warrior on the deck, and the Gravemind before him, the voice of Tassadar echoed into the darkest corners of the chief's mind seemingly everywhere and nowhere.

"We hear and obey Executor! What is your will?" the voices came in unison, six more alien voices all echoed through his mind. none of them so much as causing a ping of static on his radio.

"Cortana, something is odd here, did you hear any of that conversation?"

the chief was getting nervous, there were too many un-knowns at work. Tassadar was openly wearing Forerunner hieroglyph's, and was communicating with his teams across the EM hardened walls of the Dawn with no apparent effort.

"Kinda, I wasn't able to pick up ANYTHING on my own, but with our connection through your neural lattice, I was able to hear him second hand by using you as a filter. Its entirely possible that they are a Psionic race." in her little window in the chiefs visor, Cortana had a hand on her chin in thought.

"But you heard the Gravemind." doubt was still gnawing at the chief, too many un-knowns.

"True, but the Gravemind was also the gestalt of a hive mind, im guessing there are varying levels of Psionic potency."

"Fair enough, so what now?"

"Well Tassadar seems to want something of you, and we are DEFINATLY in a first contact scenario, lets wait and see where this leads."

"Roger."

Keeping his sword level and at the ready, chief was still watching Tassadar as he turned to regard his comrade flattened by the chief's grenade. "Templar Aluris, are you capable of movement?"

"...ugh... Yes executor I belive I will be momentarily." groaning as he attempted to push himself off of the ground Aluris reply was heard by the chief as well.

"Good, then I want you to take our misguided brother and report back to the Gantrithor."

gesturing to the fallen warrior that he had incapacitated, Tassadar moved closer to the chief to allow his follower to do his bidding.

"I hear and obey Executor." standing on unsteady legs Aluris hefted his fallen companion over his shoulder and made his way back to the ship they came from.

Nodding his head as he turned to regard the chief, Tassadar spoke in his un-earthly mental voice once more. "Good, now that that is taken care of we can see to this duel. Please accompany me, an honor ring aboard the Gantrithor will serve for this occasion."

Finishing his statement Tassadar did something that left the veteran soldier completely at a loss for words. He turned his back. Tassadar turned his back to the chief, who had an active plasma sword in hand. He turned his back and walked away.

After getting over the shock, the Chief de-activated his sword but kept the hilt in hand just in case. The walk through the dawn to the airlock where the ships merged was one of the most tension filled experiences in the chiefs life. He was outnumbered out gunned, and worst of all, caught in what at the moment amounted to hostile territory. Despite the fact that he had the enemies leader literally feet from him, the chief was unfortunately not in a position to follow his training and remove or neutralize him.

Tassadar however seemed to be filled with a hopeful energy, his step was light, and quick like a company man who just found out his oppressive manager just died horribly. But what really had the human's attention about the alien next to him was his poise. There were no wasted movements, not a single stutter or sign of any kind of nerve, Tassadar was completely at ease, and to the master chief that bespoke of two things, one: hubris, nobody should be completely at ease at any time, especially when an enemy was within arms reach, the fact that he was could be indicative of supreme arrogance.

Secondly the ease that Tassadar moved with could be indicative of something much much worse than arrogance. Power. For what need does a tiger have to be nervous around a house cat after all? And from the position the master chief was in he had a sneaking suspicion that despite the loving title he had been bestowed by the covenant, he was little more than a cherub next to the alien he was walking with.

The transition from the low light and the grey steel walls of the Dawn into the bright omnipresent glow of the crystal and golden metal of the Gantrithor was jarring. Blue light seemed to permeate every surface of the ship but didn't seem to have an origin.

"Welcome aboard my vessel Terran, the Gantrithor is the flagship of this expedition and one of the finest in our fleet." As the mismatched duo followed closely by six of Tassadar's warriors made their way through the halls and passage ways of the massive vessel Tassadar took the opportunity to enlighten the Chief of his motives. "Terran, I must confess, this expedition was sent here with a singular purpose... The eradication of all life within this star cluster."

This declaration actually caused the Master chief to halt in his tracks. Activating the blade in his hands before Tassadar could stop him Chief had the lanky alien pressed against the walls of his own ship before anyone could react.

"Hold good Terran! I said that was my mission not my goal nor my intent." Tassadar had his hands up in a placating manner, not even attempting to move the hand the Chief had pressed into his chest.

"Explain." Succinct as always the massive spartan took the moment to raise the active plasma blade up to eye level, ready to lobotomize the alien if his answer wasn't sufficient.

keenly aware of the six sets of blades and angry aliens getting into position behind him.

"The Conclave of Adjucators our highest ruling body, detected a hostile parasitic alien presence in this cluster, and dispatched my expedition to remove it." The pupil-less eyes and the omnipresent voice of the alien the Master Chief held against the wall made it exceptionally hard to judge his reactions, but from what he could tell nothing about the alien indicated he was lying.

"Chief, I know this sounds odd, but the tactile sensors aren't picking up any heartbeat or pulse out of this guy. His physiology is just too different, I cant tell if he is lying or not."

naturally keeping her comment internal Cortana vocalized the trouble the chief was experiencing first hand.

"So what do you need me for 'Executor'?" the question held and air of unspoken hostility to it, and the extra enunciation the chief placed upon the title Tassadar had claimed earlier made it sound more like a condemnation than a recognition.

"You are unique among the Terran's we have encountered thus far. Your technology seems to stem from a different philosophy, and even while stranded and alone aboard your vessel you would rather fight for your life than lay down arms and surrender. If you can prove to the conclave that your race is capable of honor then I may be able to convince them to spare your people from the flame. Otherwise they are lost."

The reason Tassadar put before the chief was enough to get him to release his hold of the alien and deactivate his blade. A small gesture from the alien in question was enough to get his guards to stand down without conflict.

"So... you want me to fight one of your men in an honor duel to prove humanity isn't a lost cause?" If it hadn't been for the golden reflective visor over his face the quirked eyebrow of the chief would have spoken of his incredulity.

"No, I want you to fight one of my BEST men in an honor duel, and win." Tassadar seemed to smile at the declaration, the change in pitch from his mental 'voice' lead to that assumption anyways.

"Not asking for much at all are we?" Never one to let herself go unnoticed for long Cortana had to comment on the peculiarities of this situation. "By the way what did you mean by "unique among the Terrans encountered thus far?" To say that cortana's female voice coming over the speakers in the chiefs armor confused Tassadar would have been like saying the ocean is wet.

It was a full ten seconds before he could formulate a response. All the while his head was cocked to the side in a mockery of a human gesture.

"You are more unique than I had imagined... But to answer your question, that..."

walking over to a wall and pointing towards the planet the dawn was set to crash into "That planet is one of two worlds in this system that you Terrans have colonized. I belive they gave it the name of "MarSara" the other colonized world in this system "ChauSara" has already been purified by fire when we heard your beacon... but this dosen't explain why you are special to us does it?" giving a brief shake of his head in the negative the chief kept his gaze fixed firmly on the figure in front of him, while simultaneously taking advantage of the reflection the window provided to monitor the six behind him as well.

"To fully understand your situation you would have to understand a bit about what is going on in this sector. And quite frankly that would take more time than we have to spare at the moment. Suffice it to say, that we, the Protoss, have been keeping a very close eye on the actions of your fellow Terrans in this sector of space. And as such, our leaders have come to certain ideas about the potential of your people. Ideas that I DO NOT agree with. Your unexpected arrival, in what amounts to an "alien" vessel by Terran standards is a prime opportunity for me to put forward my arguments much more forcefully."

Speaking up once more, with a thoughtful tone in her voice Cortana tried to sum up the situation.

"So in all reality its less that the Chief and myself are "special" and more that we are a convenient but unexpected anomaly. "

nodding his head in acknowledgment as he spoke Tassadar turned back to the Chief and his mental companion. "Sadly yes, convenience of your arrival is the primary reason we are helping you, but please don't be mistaken, you ARE significantly different from the Terrans occupying the Koprulu sector."

"I see. although its slightly past due, I belive introductions are in order. My name is Cortana and the big guy here is 'Chief'" Turning his speakers off so he could have a 'private' conversation John gave his companion a little of the third degree.

"What was that Cortana?"

"What? introducing us?"

"It would have been FAR safer had you not spoken out at all."

"I've been ALONE for almost two decades and you want me to be a SILENT companion in this little jaunt?"

"Thats not what I mean Cortana and you know it."

Sighing deeply the AI partner to the Chief looked more sorrowful than her counterpart could ever remember, appearing to almost be in tears at the memory of it. In a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper Cortana told the chief something she was very much not proud of. "I almost turned off the cryo-pods you know?"

"WHAT?"

"We were almost five years out, I was struggling to stay sane. And it felt like we would never be found. I thought that if I was going to die in that wreck then it would be far kinder to you to let you die there than wait for an eternity and not be found."

"So why didnt you do it?"

"I couldn't. You meant too much to me."

"Thank you Cortana, but why bring this up now?"

"Because im lonely John. The inactivity nearly drove me to kill you and delete myself. I need the interaction."

"I see."

"John?"

"yes?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, we will fix this, I promise you."

"Always making a girl promises. But I know you'll keep it."

"I always do."

Turning to the now thoroughly confused Tassadar, the chief explained the situation a bit more clearly. "Sorry about that, Cortana is my partner and confidant."

"Ah I see, you carry the soul of your companion with you, most admirable. You truly are more than I could have ever hoped for Chief." Shaking his head in amazement at the situation Tassadar turned to continue the trek to the combat hall. leaving a stunned Cortana and master chief behind him.

"Chief... he just said something completely outrageous didn't he?"

"Yes Cortana... yes he did."

"Think we should correct him?"

"No, his own assumption will make things simpler for us." The chief was already trying to come up with ways to exploit what Tassadar had unwittingly handed to the soldier. When they came to the hall.

It was a grand affair, there were at least two dozen different pairs of warriors squaring off against each other on the floor of a room that spanned at least a hundred meters in length half that in width and the same in height. The sounds of combat were almost therapeutic to the veteran human. But despite the familiarity there were sounds that didn't quite fit with what the Chief expected. The sounds of heavy armor clashing against each other.

"Chief follow me, I will show you how we conduct combat." The Master Chief and Cortana were given a brief tour of the combat hall. when they came to the sounds of the armor clashing the chief had questions.

"Tassadar, what are we looking at here?"

"Ah! the Dragoons. Our honored fallen." Tassadar's voice was flush with pride as he took in the sight of the combatants before him. "Those of us crippled in battle in the service of the Kahla but are still capable of serving inside the shell of a Dragoon, such unwavering service is to be commended is it not?"

Without saying anything the chief simply nodded his agreement. Cortana connected the dots however. "Chief this is what he thinks I am." It didn't need to be said however, John had already come to the same conclusion. Soon enough the trio came to an empty ring, sitting very near the center of the chamber.

"This will serve for our purposes" The ring itself was a rather large circle on the ground, nearly 75feet across marked by a raised lip of metal. Right in the center of the combat hall.

"I assume this match will have rules?" the analytical tone the chief had left no room for the impression that he would loose on a technicality.

"Naturally, this will be a non lethal affair, normally first blood would determine the victor, but I am guessing you are unwilling to leave your armor." Tassadar's gaze was just as inquisitive as the Chief but held a tone of understanding.

"Correct." Nodding his head in affirmation the Chief let his gaze wander the hall, taking in the movement of the practicing and dueling warriors surrounding them. Looking for patterns of movement and trying to get a feel for the style they used.

"That is fine, the winner will be determined by submission, ring out, forfeit, or equipment failure." That last one caught John's attention. Having a match like this decided by something as simple as a piece of equipment breaking seemed too easy and he was willing to say as much.

"Equipment failure seems to convenient for a victory condition, why include it?"

Gesturing to the warriors all around the room Tassadar explained a bit of their culture. "Our warriors pride themselves on their armor, much as I assume you do. It is a shameful among our people to have your equipment damaged irreparably in a spar. It demonstrates either a potentially lethal lack of diligence or an inexcusable lack of skill."

Nodding his head as he thought this over John once again shut off the speakers to hold conference with Cortana. "Any thoughts?"

"A few yeah..."

"Any useful to the situation at hand?"

"A couple, but im not entirely sure how practical they would be. My first thought is to capitalize on this equipment failure rule, but I'd have to have access to their armor in order to even try. and I haven't found ANY kind of wireless network or even any kind of electronics emissions on this ship, so that very well may be out. So we may just have to go with the tried and true plan B."

"Shoot my way out?"

"Something like that yeah."

"Right."

While the Chief and his confidant were speaking, Tassadar's attention was elsewhere. Entering the hall was another of his warriors, standing head and shoulders above his comrades this warrior made his way directly towards the odd human and his regal commander, bowing as he spoke.

"En Taro Tassadar. It is good to see you again."

Tassadar Regarded the new arrival with a degree of warmth that had been lacking until now.

"En Taro, my friend it is good to see you as well, Fenix."

* * *

AN: not quite the progress id have liked to have gotten out of the chapter, but with how long its been since i posted ANYTHING, i figured itd be water to a man dying of thirst right? right? no? damn...

anyways, the next chapter will deal with the duel itself, and the fallout from that. as well as the wreckage of the dawn, and maybe possibly, we might see some Terrans too...


	3. Unit Notes

A/N: So here is a little bit of light reading for yall. ive gotten a few reviewers saying that Fenix would Decimate the chief, and im honestly anticipating the reaction for the Duel chapter, and the one after that. but for the moment, let me tide you over with this.

A list of some of the Hero's we have seen so far, and a couple we havent.

as well as a basic rundown of some 'generic' units from each faction. I'm Curios to see if anyone is going to be able to guess what UNIT CLASS that Chief fits into.

anyways, this isnt a proper chapter. and iv tried to keep it from being spoileriffic, so if you really dont care about numbers. feel free to skip this. Ill have the Duel chapter out as soon as i get it back from my beta.

BTW: i own neither Halo, or any related material. that goes to the global communist empire that is Microsoft. ALL HAIL THE GATESFATHER! (zeig heil?)

also, i own nothing related to starcraft, strcraft-Brood wars, or Starcraft 2. all of those cookies go to blizzard entertainment.

as always, i love reviews. and if you have any questions or ccomments feel free to drop me a PM along with the review.

BBTW: this wasnt sent to my beta... just got bored at work and threw something together ja? so try and ignore any crappy grammer... god knows i do...

* * *

UNIT NOTES: Please bear in mind, that these profiles are not complete, and will be updated as the story progresses. And they do not actually indicate the hard combat numbers that the Starcraft game engine ran off of. And as such, they do not take into account minor glancing hits, or the relative disparity in skill between two opponents. These profiles are to give you (the reader) a glimpse of how our hero stacks up against the odds, but they are not the end all be all reference of how everyone will perform. Remember why Cortana choose John in the first place... Luck... And lady luck is a fickle bitch...

Units in question:

John "Master Chief" 117 (Infantry Hero)  
James "Jim" Raynor (Infantry Hero)  
Sara Kerrigan (Light Infantry Hero)  
Templar Fenix (Infantry Hero)  
Tassadar (Infantry Hero)  
Terran "Marine" (Standard Infantry)  
Terran "FireBat" (Heavy Infantry  
Terran "Ghost" (Light Infantry)  
Terran "Medic" (Support Infantry)  
Protoss "Zealot" (Standard Infantry)  
Protoss "Dragoon" (Mechanized Heavy Infantry)  
Zerg "Zergling" (Light Infantry)  
Zerg "Hydralisk (Heavy Infantry)

* * *

HEROES

* * *

UNIT NAME: John "Master Chief" 117

UNIT CLASS: Spartan II (?)

AFFILIATION: UNSC (Terran)

UNIT TYPE: Infantry (Hero)  
PSI INDEX: ? (Since the world John hails from had never developed Psionics, there was no way to test for latent ability. Or if he possessed any at all.)

HP: 350

SHIELDS: 100  
(Note: Unlike Protoss shielding, John's shields have a brief delay before an extremely rapid recharge.)  
(Note: Due to the unique nature of his shielding, half his armor rating applies to any attack received, not just those against the armor itself. IE: if a Marine attacked John with a basic Gauss rifle doing 6 damage per shot, he would take two damage per shot.)

ARMOR: 8  
(Note: The armor John 117 uses is composed of the same materials as Terran STARSHIP plating. Attacking his armor directly is essentially met with the same resistance as attacking a typical Terran Battle cruiser... And as a consequence of the superior material used in his armor John absorbs half again as much damage from light weapons (armor +50%) such as Zergling claws, Marine Rifles, and PSI Blades. And 1/4 again as much from medium weapons (Armor +25%) such as FireBats flame, Hydralisk spines and Dragoon blasts.)

WEAPONS: Type 1 energy blade. / (?)  
(Note: Plasma weapon)

RANGED DAMAGE:?

MEELE DAMAGE: 200  
(Note: Minor EMP effect on hit.)

SPECIAL: John 117 is currently hosting the "Smart" AI CTN0452-9 "Cortana" as such he has access to all of her processing power to assist in almost any combat, and non combat situation. Due to Extended operation time, CTN0452-9 has suffered extensive personality corruption.

* * *

UNIT NAME: James "Jim" Raynor

UNIT CLASS: Marine

AFFILIATION: Confederate Marshal

UNIT TYPE: Infantry (Hero)

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 200

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 6

WEAPONS: Custom Gauss Rifle.  
(Note: Bullet governor modified for 5 round burst fire)

RANGED DAMAGE: 8

MEELE DAMAGE: Variable

SPECIAL: Raynor is a man with an exceptionally checkered past, covering everything from bank heists, to working as a confederate militia man. Currently retired from the confederate armed service, Jim somehow found employment as the Marshal of the border planet 'Mar Sara'.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Sara Kerrigan

UNIT CLASS: Ghost

AFFILIATION: Sons Of Korhal

UNIT TYPE: Light Infantry (Hero)

PSI INDEX: 11

HP: 150

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 4

WEAPONS: C-25 canister Rifle

RANGED DAMAGE: 30

MEELE DAMAGE: Variable

SPECIAL: Kerrigan is an EXECPTIONALY powerful Psionic. possibly the most potent individual alive right now, humanity and Protoss included. Originally she was telepathic out to miles, and strong enough in telekienisis to lift buildings. The current Terran PSI-INDEX is actually based off of her measurement. With 1-10 being anything that dosen't match her in raw power. However, due to her ghost training, and the neural inhibitor the confederacy implanted, Sara is effectively PSI 5. cutting her power more than in half. While still telepathic, and mildly telekinetic, its now much much weaker. She is however strong enough to manifest her cloaking ability without the need for her hostile environment suit. The fact that she has it only makes her more efficient with the ability.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Templar "Praetor Fenix"

UNIT CLASS: Zealot

AFFILIATION: Protoss (Tassadar's Koprulu Expeditionary fleet)

UNIT TYPE: Infantry. (Hero)

HP: 200

PSI INDEX: 6  
(Note: All Protoss are at the very minimum Telepathic, and as such ALL Protoss rate at the very minimum a 4 on the human PSI INDEX rating system.)

SHIELDS: 400  
(Note: The basic Protoss plasma shield is partially generated using Psionics. PSI rating 6 or over renders the units shields immune to EMP completely, PSI rating 5 or over reduces the effect of EMP by half.)

ARMOR: 6

WEAPONS: Dual PSI Blades  
(Note: Plasma Weapon)

RANGED DAMAGE: 0

MEELE DAMAGE): 20  
(Note: 20 Per blade two blades 40 total per attack)

SPECIAL: Fenix is faster, stronger, and has more potent Psionics than ALL of his Templar brothers. The only thing barring him from High Templar status, and the Caste shift that comes with it, is his own personal preference. A Personal friend of the High Templar Tassadar. And the Adjucator Artanis. Fenix is a potent combatant on or off of the battlefield. His brothers-in-arms have given him the title "Praetor" and as such he is the leader in all matters revolving around the Templar Caste.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Executor Tassadar

UNIT CLASS: High Templar

AFFILIATION: Koprulu Expeditionary Force

UNIT TYPE: Infantry

PSI INDEX: 10  
(Note: All Protoss are at the very minimum Telepathic, and as such ALL Protoss rate at the minimum a 4 on the human PSI INDEX rating system.).  
(Note: Tassadar is a potent Psionic combatant, fully capable of re-shaping the world around him with nothing more than his mind. He is Telepathic, Telekinetic, and in many cases Pre-cognizant in combat.)

HP: 120

SHIELDS: 120  
(Note: Tassadar's Plasma shield is ENTIERLY generated using Psionics. In addition to being immune to EMP, Tassadar applies his armor value to any and all attacks he receives.)

ARMOR: 4

WEAPONS: PSI Pulse  
(Note: PSI Weapon - Ignores ALL armor types )

RANGED DAMAGE: 20

MEELE DAMAGE: 0

SPECIAL:  
Illusion: As a high level Psionist Tassadar is capable of creating semi-solid independent illusions of any unit he targets. He can see anything any of his illusions do, however being illusory in nature any attack they do does: (0) damage, regardless of any other factors. Automatic on-hit defenses are not triggered either. the illusions DO trigger automated defenses such as sentry turrets and spore colonies however.

PSI Storm: So potent are Tassadar's abilities with Psionics, that he can litteraly rip the fabric of reality apart. This causes a sever electrical storm in the area of the disturbance.

* * *

UNIT NAME: (?)  
UNIT CLASS: (?)  
AFFILIATION: (?)  
UNIT TYPE: (?)  
PSI INDEX: (?)  
HP: (?)  
SHIELDS: (?)  
ARMOR: (?)  
WEAPONS: (?)  
RANGED DAMAGE: (?)  
MEELE DAMAGE: (?)  
SPECIAL: (?)

* * *

TERRAN

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "Marine"

UNIT CLASS: Marine

AFFILIATION: Terran (Multiple factions)

UNIT TYPE: Infantry

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 50

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: Variable (Infantry)  
(Note: Infantry armors take full damage from vehicle mounted weapons regardless of weapon category.)  
(Note: The CMC armor system has MANY upgrades, and the armor on any given marine can range from 0 - 3 )

WEAPONS: Gauss Rifle  
(Note: Light weapon)

RANGED DAMAGE: 6 (2 shots per attack 12 dmg)  
(Note: The standard Marine gauss rifle comes equipped with an ammunition governor, preventing the marine from firing in more than a 2 round burst so while the weapon is listed as fully automatic, and contains 200 rounds per magazine, the marine is limited to 3 shots per attack)

MEELE DAMAGE): 6 - Variable  
(Note: the CMC armor system can support many meele weapons, and the damage a marine can inflict in meele is reflected by what he has equipped. As a standard marines prefer to use their rifle in meele as opposed to drawing another weapon.)

SPECIAL: Can be equipped with "Stim Pack" drug injectors to boost combat capabilities temporarily, sever side effects DO result.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "FireBat"

UNIT CLASS: FireBat

AFFILIATION: Terran (Multiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: Heavy Infantry

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 120

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 6 (Heavy)  
(Note: Heavy armors are half as effective against vehicle and starship mounted weapons of medium weight and higher.)

WEAPONS: Dual Incinerator Gauntlet x2

RANGED DAMAGE: 16 (16x2 gauntlet's 32dmg per attack)  
(Note: The FireBat is primarily a close to mid range support combatant. The Incinerator Gauntlet can propel a pressurized liquid napalm stream up to twenty meters out from the unit. as a consequence of the weapon design however, the FireBat is forced to use the flamethrower in both range and meele combat.)

MEELE DAMAGE: 0

SPECIAL: Can be equipped with "Stim Pack" drug injectors to boost combat capabilities temporarily, sever side effects DO result.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "Ghost"

UNIT CLASS: Ghost

AFFILIATION: Terran (Multiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: Light Infantry

PSI INDEX: 3

HP: 75

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 0 (Infantry)  
(Note: Infantry armors take full damage from vehicle mounted weapons regardless of weapon category.)

WEAPONS: C-25 Canister rifle  
(Note: Light Weapon)

RANGED DAMAGE: 20

MEELE DAMAGE): Variable

SPECIAL:  
Cloak: Due to special training, and neural implants, the Ghost is un-naturally limited to a PSI rating of 3, giving them emotional empathy with people surrounding them, as well as the ability to interface with the hostile environment suit. the HES provides the ghost with the minimum required protection in a combat zone, as well as granting them the ability to "cloak" nearly at will.

Lockdown: Special EMP-Ammunition may be loaded into the C-25 allowing the ghost to temporarily Disable active mechanized units and vehicles.

Nuke: The C-25 may mount a laser target designator for tactical nuclear strikes.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "Medic"

UNIT CLASS: Medic

AFFILIATION:Terran (Multiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: Infantry

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 80

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 2 (Infantry)  
(Note: Infantry armors take full damage from vehicle mounted weapons regardless of weapon category.)

WEAPONS: - Unarmed

RANGED DAMAGE: 0

MEELE DAMAGE: 0

SPECIAL: Foregoing typical loadouts, the Medic's CMC armor system is loaded with field specific surgical tools, and medicinal chemicals. A large Neo-Steel shield is also provided to the Medic to provide some form of defense.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "Vulture"

UNIT CLASS: Vulture

AFFILIATION: Terran (Multiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: Light Mechanized Infantry

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 100

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 2 (Vehicle plating)  
(Note: Terran Vehicle Plating Reduces damage from Light weapons by an additional 1/4)

WEAPONS: Concussion Grenade  
(Note: NOT considered a "Vehicle Mounted Weapon" for purposes of damage.)  
(Note: Light Weapon)

RANGED DAMAGE: 20

MEELE DAMAGE: 0

SPECIAL:

Spider mines: Semi-Autonomous plant-and-forget land mines that actually move towards incoming targets not tagged by a friendly IFF.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "Goliath"

UNIT CLASS: Goliath

AFFILIATION: Terran (Mulitiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: Vehicle

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 150

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 5 (Terran Vehicle Plating)  
(Note: Terran Vehicle Plating Reduces damage from Light weapons by an additional 1/4)

WEAPONS: Chain Guns, Hellfire Missiles.

RANGED DAMAGE: 15(Chain guns) / 30(Missiles)  
(Note: Chain Guns are "Light Vehicle Weapons" Hellfire missiles are "Medium Vehicle Weapons")

MEELE DAMAGE: 100 (infantry, and light infantry only)  
(Note: In meele combat if the targets are too close for guns, the pilot will take to stepping on his targets.)

SPECIAL: Due to the mounting of the chain guns, they can only be used against ground targets. however, the targeting system on the hellfire missiles is superior to most base defense grade missile turrets giving improved range, and shorter travel times.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Terran "Siege Tank"

UNIT CLASS: Tank

AFFILIATION: Terran (Multiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: Heavy Vehicle

PSI INDEX: 0

HP: 200

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 8 (Terran Vehicle Plating)  
(Note: Terran Vehicle Plating Reduces damage from Light weapons by an additional 1/4)

WEAPONS: 80mm cannon / 120mm Arclite "Shock" Cannon

RANGED DAMAGE: 30(Medium Vehicle weapon) / 120(Heavy Vehicle Weapon)

MEELE DAMAGE: 0

SPECIAL: The Siege tank is capable of deploying a heavy high caliber weapon by deploying stability assists and reinforcing its position. This temporarily immobilizes the tank however.

Tanks are incapable of fighting in meele if the target closes into meele range, the tank crew must rely on nearby allies to clear them out.

* * *

UNIT NAME: (?)  
UNIT CLASS: (?)  
AFFILIATION: TERRAN  
UNIT TYPE: (?)  
PSI INDEX: (?)  
HP: (?)  
SHIELDS: (?)  
ARMOR: (?)  
WEAPONS: (?)  
RANGED DAMAGE: (?)  
MEELE DAMAGE: (?)  
SPECIAL: (?)

* * *

PROTOSS

* * *

UNIT NAME: Protoss "Zealot"

UNIT CLASS: Zealot

AFFILIATION: Protoss (multiple factions)

UNIT TYPE: Infantry.

PSI INDEX: 4 (Note: All Protoss are at the very minimum Telepathic, and as such ALL Protoss rate at the minimum a 4 on the human PSI-INDEX rating system.)

HP: 50

SHIELDS: 50  
(Note: The basic Protoss plasma shield is partially generated using Psionics. PSI rating 6 or over renders the units shields immune to EMP completely, PSI rating 5 reduces the effect of EMP by half.)

ARMOR: 2 (Infantry)  
(Note: Infantry armors take full damage from vehicle mounted weapons regardless of weapon category.)

WEAPONS: Dual PSI Blades  
(Note: Plasma Weapon, Light Weapon. )

RANGED DAMAGE: 0

MEELE DAMAGE): 8  
(Note: 8 Per blade, two blades 16 total per attack)

SPECIAL: None

* * *

UNIT NAME: Protoss "Dragoon"

UNIT CLASS: Dragoon

AFFILIATION: Protoss (multiple factions)

UNIT TYPE: Mechanized heavy Infantry.

PSI INDEX: 4  
(Note: All Protoss are at the very minimum Telepathic, and as such ALL Protoss rate at the minimum a 4 on the human PSI INDEX rating system.)

HP: 80

SHIELDS: 80  
(Note: The basic Protoss plasma shield is partially generated using Psionics. PSI rating 6 or over renders the units shields immune to EMP completely, PSI rating 5 or over reduces the effect of EMP by half.)

ARMOR: 4 (Heavy)  
(Note: Heavy armors are half as effective against vehicle and starship mounted weapons of medium weight and higher.)

WEAPONS: Phase Disruption Cannon.  
(Note: Plasma Weapon )

RANGED DAMAGE: 20

MEELE DAMAGE): 100  
(Note: Against light infantry only)  
(Note: In meele the dragoon resorts to bodily slamming the opponent, or outright crushing them under its weight. In the case of a heavy infantry in close range, substitute ranged damage for meele.)

SPECIAL: None

* * *

UNIT NAME: Protoss "Observer"

UNIT CLASS: Observer

AFFILIATION: Protoss (Multiple Factions)

UNIT TYPE: UAV

PSI INDEX: 1

HP: 25

SHIELDS: 50

ARMOR: 0

WEAPONS: N/A

RANGED DAMAGE: N/A

MEELE DAMAGE: N/A

SPECIAL: The observer is a small autonomous U.A.V with an extensive sensor, and stealth suite capable of detecting units under "Cloak" or while underground. the UAV itself it permanently cloaked.

Its shield is completely mechanical in design.

Due to the nature of Protoss construction, the Observer has a PSI INDEX of 1, allowing it to draw power from the grid in any protoss setelment.

* * *

UNIT NAME: (?)  
UNIT CLASS: (?)  
AFFILIATION: PROTOSS  
UNIT TYPE: (?)  
PSI INDEX: (?)  
HP: (?)  
SHIELDS: (?)  
ARMOR: (?)  
WEAPONS: (?)  
RANGED DAMAGE: (?)  
MEELE DAMAGE: (?)  
SPECIAL: (?)

* * *

ZERG

* * *

UNIT NAME: Zerg "Zergling"

UNIT CLASS: Zergling

AFFILIATION: Zerg (all broods subservient to Overmind)

UNIT TYPE: Light Infantry

PSI INDEX: 2  
(Note: All Zerg are inherently Psionic on some level. The lack of individuality lessens the threat this presents, but due to the predatory nature of the Zerg as a whole Persons who register at least a 1 on the PSI INDEX attract zerg for potential assimilation.)

HP: 35

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 1 (Infantry)

WEAPONS: Claws

RANGED DAMAGE:0

MEELE DAMAGE: 4  
(Note: Light Weapon)

SPECIAL: The Dune-Runners that the Zergling were originally mutated from were exceptionally fast, this has carried over into the more violent mutation the Swarm uses. Zerglings can move twice as fast overground as any other non-mechanized infantry.

Due to the mutating nature of Zerg genetics, All Zerg units constantly regenerate from any non fatal wound.

* * *

UNIT NAME: Zerg "Hydralisk"

UNIT CLASS: Hydralisk

AFFILIATION: Zerg (All broods subservient to Overmind)

UNIT TYPE: Heavy Infantry

PSI INDEX: 2  
(Note: All Zerg are inherently Psionic on some level. The lack of individuality lessens the threat this presents, but due to the predatory nature of the Zerg as a whole Persons who register at least a 1 on the PSI INDEX attract zerg for potential assimilation.)

HP: 75

SHIELDS: 0

ARMOR: 3

WEAPONS: Spines, Claws

RANGED DAMAGE: 12 (Spines)  
(Note: Poisoned attacks, Light Weapon)

MEELE DAMAGE: 8 (Claws)  
(Note: Light Weapon)

SPECIAL: The Hydralisk attacks at range by 'spitting' six-inch-long spikes that are grown and stored in the carapace on the back side of its head. These spines are covered in a semi caustic body fluid the Hydralisk produces to aid in armor penetration and aerodynamics. This Fluid aside from its caustic properties is toxic to non Zerg biology. Attacking the victims blood, muscle-tissue, nervous system, and bone structure by causing extremely rapid uncontrollable mutation. In Terran's this has proven to be 99% fatal without immediate medical treatment.

Due to the mutating nature of Zerg genetics, All Zerg units constantly regenerate from any non fatal wound.

* * *

UNIT NAME: (?)  
UNIT CLASS: (?)  
AFFILIATION: ZERG  
UNIT TYPE: (?)  
PSI INDEX: (?)  
HP: (?)  
SHIELDS: (?)  
ARMOR: (?)  
WEAPONS: (?)  
RANGED DAMAGE: (?)  
MEELE DAMAGE: (?)  
SPECIAL: (?)

* * *

A/N: And thats all for that folks. sorry if you were looking forward to something else, but i felt inclined to put this out there.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: soooo yea, plans change. Orriginaly I had sent this to my beta, and expected to hear back from him in like a day, maybey two at most. its been a week now. so bear with me and ignore the shitty grammar and miserable abuse of the english language... god only knows how i do.

BTW: I don't own StarCraft or Halo. all those Internet cookies (and money) go to Microsoft and Blizzard entertainment respectively.

BBTW: Also, just a reminder, the stats i put out in the last 'chapter' are more of a general guideline, and not an end all be all guide to who would win. they dont really take into account all of the factors that really come into a fight. let alone the chaos of an all-out battlefield.

So here it is the much anticipated (hopefully) 'Duel" its a bit shorter than the original chapters but the fact that im being as active as i am on this is making me happy so yea...

As always, reviews are appreciated. Feel free to drop a PM along with the review if you have questions or comments youd like a more in-depth answer to.

* * *

The Master Chief stood near the center of the dueling ring, across from him was the warrior Tassadar had identified to him as "Fenix". Standing slightly taller than the Chief himself, the gold-armor clad warrior was an intimidating sight.

The telltale double sound of breaking glass heralded the activation of Fenix weapons.

crossing his blades before his chest, he bowed slightly in the direction of the Chief. His odd mental voice ringing out. "May our duel shine within the light of the Khala**.**"

Choosing to remain silent, the Chief simply activated the plasma blade in his own hand.

Both warriors slid into their respective ready stances with little preamble.

The silence within the combat chamber was palpable. But inside the helmet of one spartan II a short conversation was held. "Chief, while we were walking in I got a fairly diverse sample of the combat style your opponents seem to favor. If you'd like I can highlight areas that his attacks are likely to come from, and the probability of the attack coming from that direction before he does so. It should be enough to let you keep up with him."

Short and terse as always the chief replied "Do it."

Immediately the VISOR on his helmet highlighted six different areas around his body, each with a different color representing the likelihood of the incoming attack being targeted at that area. A small index at the top of his VISOR explained each color accordingly, with areas highlighted in red having an over eighty percent chance of receiving the next attack.

Adjusting his stance to cover the at risk areas more appropriately, Chief was treated to the equivalent of a human raising their eyebrow in surprise and consternation.

From Fenix perspective, his opponent had just shifted without external influence, from an armatures stance full of holes and openings just begging to be exploited, into a significantly more effective defensive stance. His respect for his opponent just jumped several levels.

Seeing as his opponent was content to give him the opening attacks of the duel, Fenix wasted no time in crossing the distance between the pair.

Sparks of electricity raced through the air as plasma blades met clashed, rebounded and clashed again and again. Over and under, from angles that should have been impossible for normal men. The Master Chief and his opponent danced through the ring, trading tens of blows in a matter of seconds. After the fist volley of attacks was thrown, it appeared that while Fenix was able to attack faster than the Chief, and was marginally stronger, the Chief had better reflexes and his blade did more damage if it connected.

"Chief, I've got some good news and some bad news." Cortana spoke up as the pair re-engaged for another blitzkrieg of violent blows. "Good news is that our shields seem to be better at dispersing blows than his. Bad news is that his shield seems to be a magnitude stronger than ours."

The only reply she received was a noncommittal grunt from her partner as he exchanged blows with the alien warrior.

"Well, I can see that you are busy so I'll explain it anyways, and hope you were paying attention latter." If the Chief had been paying Cortana any more attention than the audio he was receiving from her, he would have seen her little box window display what looked like a briefing room, full of desks, with her in front of a blackboard style display.

A diagram detailing the information she had aquiered on both shielding systems written on the board. "From what I've been able to gather the alien shielding is composed primarily of plasma, very similar in composition to the covenant elite shielding systems. Unfortunately the similarity seems to end there. Normally a plasma shielding system would be fairly susceptible to plasma weapons, overloading and failing due to the electromagnetic fields both shields and weapons require in order to shape the plasma causing interference with each other. However it seems this group has somehow managed to overcome that. Consequently this means that his shield will not give out under your sword, but at the same time, our shields are not vulnerable to his blades either."

Pointing with what appeared to be a metal pointer stick to various parts of the diagram as she spoke Cortana continued with her dissertation heedless of the violent combat her partner was involved in. "Also, unlike our shields that are able to negate a significant portion of incoming inertia due to non-Newtonian properties canceling out friction. It appears that they are susceptible to all of the inertia they receive from an attack. Meaning he is significantly easier to un-balance than you. Also unlike our shields, it appears that he is surrounded by a bubble of plasma, as opposed to the thin layer of energy we use. This unfortunately means that his shield is SIGNIFICANTLY more durable than ours. But it also means our shields recover that much more quickly."

Sparing a moment from the duel the chief quickly asked. "How much faster?"

Cortana adopted a 'thinking pose' for a moment before she began again. "Well our full recharge time is just under three seconds, after a five second break from incoming fire. Their shields seem to recharge at a constant slower rate. If I put a time to it, I'd say he would be back to full shield in about two minutes without taking any fire."

Knowing his enemies strengths and weaknesses was always comforting to the experienced soldier. To learn that his equipment held such a difference in performance was mildly comforting. Still, he didn't let the minor education on his opponent cause his attention to waver, or his ego to inflate. There wasn't a quicker death in combat than that, and despite the difference in shield performance Fenix was an absolute master with his chosen style. Only the intervention of Cortana, and his own absurd affair with lady luck let him stay in the ring.

The fight had been dragging on for nearly a full minute hundreds of blows and counter blows had been thrown, the lighting in the hall shifted constantly from the clashing blue sparks of the blades meeting, to the ghostly illumination of the plasma shields the alien wore, to the brilliant gold of the Chiefs own shields.

Off on the sides of the ring, spectators had gathered to watch. Tassadar and his boarding party chief among the spectators. Aluris one of the youngest Zealots on the expedition stared with blatant incredulity at the display before him. "Executor, how is this possible? No Terran should be able to stand in the honor ring against even the least of our number, let alone against a master of Templar Fenix's experience."

Turning to the young Templar beside him Tassadar gave the alien version of a smile. "And that young Templar, is _exactly _why I put him there. If he can hold against Fenix for this long, then there is hope for his species to hold out against the Zerg, is there not?"

"As you say Exceutor... Still, this duel seems odd..." Aluris continued to watch the duel between what he now considered two blademasters. "It seems that as the longer this duel continues, the less Master Fenix seems to be able to hit the Terran."

"So, you noticed that as well?" Tassadar's attention was back on the ring where the two combatants were still continuing their dance.

Despite the situation, or maybe because of the situation, John found himself enjoying this duel very much. The stakes were high, the pressure was on, and it all fell to him. As usual. And as usual he never failed. Despite the duel entering its third minute of near constant activity, John had managed to maintain his shields near half strength almost constantly. He had taken to using his shield strength as a measure of how well he was doing. With the attack recognition routine that Cortana had set up for him at the beginning. And his own lightning fast reflexes, John had managed to consistently block or outright dodge eight out of every ten attacks.

Unfortunately Fenix was as previously mentioned, and absolute master of his blades, and because of this only one out of every twenty attacks that John threw managed to make any kind of noticeable contact. Still, with the performance difference between his and Fenix shields, if the duel continued in this manner he would win within the next three minutes.

Another lightning fast exchange of blows left Fenix near the opposite side of the ring from John, while he himself was completely bereft of shields. Standing from his combat stance Fenix regarded his opponent.

"You are a marvelous combatant. Are you actively learning my style and adjusting to it as we fight?" Seeing no reason not to indulge his opponent. John merely nodded his head, as he watched his shield gauge register a full charge. "Absolutely marvelous. And I assume that wave of static was your shield returning to full?"

Again seeing no reason not to indulge his opponent, John nodded his head in confirmation. "Amazing... Truly Tassadar chose wisely. If every Templar had an opponent of your caliber to spar against none would be capable of standing before us. However, I do belive your case has been made yes?"

Turning towards Tassadar for his confirmation of satisfaction, and receiving a nod in return Fenix sank back into his combat stance. "This has been a most enjoyable duel. Unfortunately I have duties to return to, and must bring this to an end." Unlike the opening salvo of the duel, Fenix closed the distance between them at a slow and guarded pace. As he approached, The Chief sank into his own defensive posture.

John was glad for the privacy of his helmet however, as he watched dozens of areas across his body light up in flashing red, indicating that the area in question was in danger of an immediate attack. And from the stance he was in, Cortana couldn't accurately predict where he was going to strike.

"Cortana! What happened?" his voice was still the same level baritone he always used, but a hint of urgency laced his tone.

"He changed his stance. And from his previous patterns and habits of movement, he could strike on any of those areas just as easily as anywhere else. Chief, if what I'm seeing is right, he was toying with you this entire time..."


End file.
